Creamy Chicken Marsala

First off, I apologize for the craptastic picture above. I was too lazy to get my camera and just snapped this with my camera. It takes much better than it looks I promise.

Ingredients

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced into cutlets
1 shallot, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup marsala wine
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp butter
Flour for dredging
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Directions

In large shallow skillet, pour enough olive oil to just coat bottom. Heat over medium heat. Season cutlet with salt and pepper. Dredge each cutlet into flour, tapping off excess. Fry each cutlet in the oil until golden brown and cooked through, about 5-7 minutes each. Drain and set aside.

Once all the cutlets are cooked add shallots to pan and saute until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and saute for an additional minute. Pour wine into pan and scrape up brown bits. Let the wine reduce by half. Stir in chicken stock and heavy cream. Let thicken slightly, about 2-3 minutes. Add butter and stir until melted.

Add cutlets back to pan and warm thorough. Serve each cutlet with sauce on top.

Creamy Tomato Sauce

I was inspired to make a creamy tomato sauce when I saw a similar recipe on Stephanie Cooks. It was super simple and super quick to make and tastes way better than jarred sauce.


Ingredients
10 oz. heavy cream or half and half (I used half and half)
4 oz. tomato paste
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
1 tsp oregano
1 tbsp olive oil
fresh chopped basil to taste

Directions
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until golden brown. Add tomato paste, cream, cheese, oregano and basil. Stir to combine and cook until just heated throughout. Serve over al dente pasta.

Southwest Corn Chowder

With the cooler temperatures and rainy weather we've been treating ourselves to lots of comfort food. I had some fresh Jersey corn in my freezer that I wanted to use before it was destroyed by frost bite. Velvety and warm corn chowder was just the thing to make. I don't particularly care about the calories from using heavy cream but if you do you could easily substitute half and half or light cream instead. Serve this with some crusty bread and you have a warming and satisfying meal.


Ingredients
5 ears of corn, kernels cut off
1 1/2 cup of heavy cream
32 oz of chicken or vegetable broth
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 tbsp flour
2 tsp of chili powder
2 tsp of paprika
1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper

Directions

In a large stock pot, add oil and onions stirring to coat. Cook over medium heat until onions begin to carmelize. Add garlic and continue cooking until pale golden brown, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle flour over onions and garlic and stir to coat. Add chicken broth and bring to a vigorous boil. Continue to boil for 10 minutes. Add the heavy cream and continue to boil for an additional 10 minutes, be sure to stir to prevent the cream from burning or boiling over. Add the corn and red peppers, simmer for 5 minutes or until corn is tender. Add paprika and chili powder, salt and pepper to tasty. Serve hot. You can garnish with cheddar cheese and/or scallions.

Creamy Onion Soup

This is my version of the Walkabout Soup from Outback Steakhouse.

Ingredients

2 large sweet onions, sliced thin
1 yellow onion, sliced thin
42 oz beef broth
3/4 cup hot water
4 tspb cornstarch
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt
pepper

Directions

In a large pot, bring beef broth to a boil. Add onions to broth and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Mix cornstarch with hot water until completely dissolved. Add cornstarch mixture to beef broth, stir until thoroughly incorporated. Simmer for 2-3 minutes or until soup thickens slightly. Turn heat to low and add heavy cream and stir to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper.

I served this with a simple steak and toasted pumpernickel bread just like they do at Outback.